Though he might pride himself on being a blunt speaker, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is likely to regret his comments to the press during the Microsoft trial.

With the arrogance of a man whose courtroom is his kingdom, Judge Jackson told the New Yorker that Bill Gates was "a smart-mouthed young kid who has extraordinary ability but needs discipline."

To the New York Times he likened Microsoft's writing of incriminating documents to drug traffickers who "never figure out that they shouldn't be saying certain things on the phone". An imposing barrel-chested man, who enjoys parading his ignorance of the the technological nuances of the trial, he invoked the ire of his peers with a series of interviews where, according to the court of appeal, he emphasised "the company's prevarication, hubris, and impenitence".

Jackson was merely intending to "educate" the public and rebut "public misperceptions". But the court of appeal disagreed. "If those were his intentions, he could have addressed them in his findings of fact, conclusions of law, final judgment, or in a written opinion. Or he could have held his tongue until or the appeals were concluded."

The sight of a senior judge cavorting with journalists while a case was ongoing broke the jesuit code that the US judiciary prides itself on. The appeal court particularly singles out the 10 hours of taped interviews given to the New Yorker's Ken Auletta for a book published after the trial, World War 3.0.

The appeal court judges suggest that on one occasion Jackson could have been influenced by a interview with Mr Auletta. The journalist told him that Microsoft employees were "shocked" that they "had violated the law" and Jackson became "agitated" by Microsoft's obstinacy.

For the appeal court, Jackson's behaviour was bad but the press was capable of worse. "For all he knew there may have been trading on the basis of the information he secretly conveyed ... the public cannot be expected to maintain confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the federal judiciary in the face of such conduct".